Starting from 3000 BC, Jerusalem must has been one of the oldest cities I ever visited. Being a place of worship for Christians, Jews, and Muslims since the biblical era, this city was rich with historical culture. Even though the city itself was fascinating, something that really stuck to me from my travels through Israel wasn’t exactly Jerusalem itself. Something about the scorching desert the worshipped city resided in truly amazed me. On our way to Jerusalem, I remember we had to get up really early to get there at a reasonable time but this also allowed us to see the bright vermillion sun rising over the desert horizon. It lit the whole sky with a warm color palette of yellows, oranges, and reds the more the sun rose over the landscape. Even though my aunts, parents, and I were burning up in our car, we still admired the vast emptiness of this ancient country. Checking my phone, it could not even tell if it was 100 degrees or 110 degrees outside due to bad connection. Who cares. Both temperatures are too hot for me anyway. But, it wasn’t everyday that you got to see a camel casually cross your path either.
Where were we even heading from Jerusalem? One of the coolest places in the world which can also be known as the Dead Sea. With its water having a 33.7% salinity, it makes it the saltiest body of water in the world. Before even having a chance to get into the sea itself, the people working the spa there told us we had to go through a whole process to make this experience all the more “relaxing”. We were first driven down halfway towards the salt beach to the mud pits. These tubs were boiling with thick, bubbling mud for visitors to try out. My whole family literally bathed in this mud to the point where we saw no more skin on us. We were all covered in a thick layer of that mud and sat around until it began to dry up on us. It even began to sting the surface of my skin after a long time of keeping it on and walking around in it under the burning desert sun. Of course, we could not get into the sea looking like this, so we had to rinse this mud of ours off with a fresh water shower first! Yeah, it would have felt nice if the shower did not feel like needles hitting your skin and the water being boiling hot. This kind of set back the whole “relaxation” with this one of a kind mud experience. Though, I have to admit that it felt amazing after we dried off from that torturous shower. I literally felt like I had a new, fresh layer of skin on me again. I was rejuvenated.
Once we gathered our things and dried off from that mud dip, we finally got drive down to the salt beach in a tractor. Not the best source of transportation but hey, it got us there! I’m not even exaggerating when I say the beach was completely coated in salt. We had to walk down on hot salt to reach the water. As relaxing as this was supposed to be, the amount of warning signs put me on edge. Some welcoming posts said things like “Getting the water in your eyes can lead to blindness!” and “Request help right away if you swallow the water!” Oh yeah, and for the idiots, “Don’t splash the water on yourself or others!” Lovely.
After putting my water shoes on, I decided to finally step into this famous water. Sweet merciful Christ, the water was boiling hot as well! It’s like Israel is out to get me with this heat from every corner. I also felt the microscopic burns where the water contacted all the tiny cuts I had all over my body. At least the water had this tingly feeling that made it feel like a nice relieving lotion. Sucking it up, I squatted down to get in deeper before finally laying back to float on the water. Now that was cool! I could not even lower my arms or legs more into the water since they kept floating to the top constantly. There was also a moment where I nearly flipped over and dipped my head into the water. Thankfully, I panicked and flipped myself back over before any damage was done. From there, I relaxed and enjoyed the vast beauty of this haunting desert. The heat and stinging did not seem to bother me anymore. I’ve got to say, this whole luxurious spa experience only felt good the next day. After that swim, it felt like my body was on fire for a good amount of the day. At least we took a nice souvenir with us: the Dead Sea mud.
